I gCuid a hAon, roinn Amy a dtaithí leis an chlár Gaeilge in Ollscoil Bari. Déanann ár nOifigeach Gaeilge Lára machnamh ar chanúint, pobal agus na mic léinn iontacha a rinne an malartú cultúrtha seo chomh speisialta di.
Scrollaigh síos chun Béarla a fháil | Scroll down for English
Spiorad, paisean agus tiomantas, sin mar a dhéanfainn cur síos ar atmaisféar Bari. Tá an nasc idir an chathair chósta Iodálach seo agus Éire dochreidte!
Stair na Gaeilge | History of Irish
Spiorad, paisean agus tiomantas, sin mar a dhéanfainn cur síos ar atmaisféar Bari. Tá an nasc idir an chathair chósta Iodálach seo agus Éire dochreidte!
D’fhreastail mé chuig Bari mar chuid de mhalartú cultúrtha ceithre lá, ag comhoibriú le hAmy ar chlár Gaeilge a fhorbairt agus a chur ar fáil. Rinne Amy a léacht, ‘Stair na Gaeilge’, ar ár gcéad lá in Ollscoil Bari a gclúdaíonn stair na Gaeilge ó Ghaeilge Ársa go dtí Nua- Ghaeilge agus an tábhacht atá ann í a chaomhnú san aois dhigiteach, bhí seo mar chuid de sheisiún leathan ar teangacha atá i mbaol do mhic léinn teangeolaíochta, le léacht fhíorúil ar an gCatalóinis dhíreach roimh a léacht. Thug mé faoi deara tiomantas na mic léinn teangeolaíochta nuair bhí sí ag múineadh dóibh an dóigh chun uirlísí aistriúchán a chur i bhfeidhm ar an Vicipéid. Chuir sé áthas orm gur fhill cuid acu ón bhliain anuraidh.
Gaeltacht Bari | Bari Irish language immersive education
Ba é an dara lae an chéad lá oifigiúil de ‘Gaeltacht Bari’ agus nuair a shiúil muid istigh, bhí gliondar orm tríocha cúig mhac léinn a fheiceáil os ár gcomhair agus iad ann as a stuaim féin agus arís, cuid eile a d’fhill ar ais ón bhliain anuraidh!
Thug muid éagsúlacht chanúnach isteach linne sa léachtlann- mise le Gaeilge Uladh (blas Ard Mhacha) agus Amy le Gaeilge na Mumhan (blas Port Láirge). Mhothaigh mé gur léirigh muid an difear idir ár gcanúintí gan náire agus le bród, mar chuid de shaibhreas na Gaeilge agus d’éagsúlacht theangeolaíoch i mionteangacha. Is teanga bheatha í teanga labhartha agus bhí sé chomh hálainn domsa a chloisteáil na daltaí ag cleachtadh blas Ard Mhacha os ard.
Thosaigh muid le “Dia duit” agus thar trí dhianchúrsaí thumthach bhí na mic léinn sáite sa Ghaeilge agus an ghramadach– ordú abairte, an chopail san aimsir láithreach agus chaite, an dóigh chun briathra rialta a réimniú, réamhfhocal agus comhaontú aidiachtaí. Bhog muid i dtreo scríbhneoireachta ar Vicipéid, le béim ar na cineálacha abairtí a theastaíonn chun alt a chruthú. Bhí fócas ar leith againn ar an mbearna inscne mar chuid d’fheachtas Wikimedia, Ceiliúradh na mBan i rith Mí Idirnáisiúnta na mBan. Bhí sé cosúil le heochair a thabhairt dóibh, eochair chun a gcéad dréachtaí ar Vicipéid a scríobh.
‘Lungomare’ Bari | Bari promenade
Bhí am saor agam siúl thart an chathair idir na seisiúin teagasc agus chuir áilleacht agus ailtireacht an chathair ionadh orm, go háirithe an chuid is ansa de Bari. Shiúil mé cuid den ‘lungomare’, promanáid Bari atá 15km fada agus is é an ceann is faide san Iodáil!
Féile Scannán Idirnáisiúnta Bari | Bari International Film Festival
Mar chuid den tsiúlóid, chas mé ar ‘Teatro Margherita’ foirgneamh álainn ina raibh taispeántas ealaíne ann ar scannánaíocht Federico Fellini, mar chuid d’Fhéile Scannánaíochta Idirnáisiúnta Bari, féile bhliantúil a thosaigh sa bhliain 2009. Chruthaigh an grúpa SCART an ealaín seo, déanta as fuíollábhar. Thaitin sé liom agus chuir sé éiteas na Vicipéide i gcuimhne dom: rud atá ann cheana a húsáid agus é a roinnt leis an phobal saor in aisce ar son chaomhnú.
Mic léinn Ollscoil Bari | University of Bari students
Ba mhaith liom spotsolas a lonrú ar mhic léinn Ollscoil Bari, daoine spreagtha, tiomanta, oscailte agus fiosrach maidir le mionteangacha agus cultúr eile. Ní raibh eagla orthu triail a bhaint as rud éigin nua agus bhí sé mothúchánach dom cé chomh toilteanach is a bhí siad dul i mbun tumoideachas.
Bhí suim mhór agam i scéalta na mic léinn agus na cúiseanna taobh thiar dóibh freastal ar an “Gaeltacht” seo agus cad a cheap siad faoin nGaeilge, faoi Éirinn, agus faoi mhionteangacha. Luaigh siad cultúr na hÉireann agus a bhfiosracht faoin teanga í féin. Bhí sé suntasach go háirithe dóibh siúd a raibh fo-chanúint acu ina dteanga féin, Barese. Thug mac léinn a d’fhreastail anuraidh seo mar fhreagra: “Is punc í an Ghaeilge.” Bhuail seo croílár an scéil ionam. Bhí mise agus Amy d’aon tuairim ó shin ar aghaidh- is punc í an Barese agus Bari freisin!
Buíochas a ghabháil | Thank you
Ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas ó chroí a ghabháil lenár n-óstach san Iodáil—léachtóirí Ollscoil Bari, go háirithe Maristella Gatto agus Francesco Meledandri, agus Ferdinando as Wikimedia Italia—as an bhfáilte fhlaithiúil agus an mhalartú cultúrtha speisialta seo.
D’fhás an t-imeacht seo as an Chomhdháil Celtic Knot 2024 agus tá mé chomh buíoch as an deis a bheith agam a bheith i láthair ann—a bheith ábalta mo thuiscint ar an Ghaeilge a thabhairt go dtí an Iodáil agus comhoibriú lenár mBainisteoir Pobail, Amy, chun “Gaeltacht Bari” a chur ar fáil.Is pribhléid ollmhór é a bheith ag comhoibriú le comhgleacaí a bhfuil an oiread sin paisean, díograise agus fís aici don Ghaeilge agus dá háit sa domhan digiteach.
Coinnígí súil amach don chéad chéim eile den chomhoibriú seo!
Leagan Béarla | English Version
In Part One, Amy shared her experiences with the Irish language programme in the University of Bari. Our Irish Language Officer, Lára, shares her reflections on dialect, community and the remarkable students who brought this exchange to life.
Spirit, passion, and commitment is how I would describe Bari’s atmosphere. The connection between this coastal Italian city and Ireland is incredible!
I travelled to Bari as part of a four-day cultural exchange, collaborating with Amy to develop and deliver an Irish language programme. On our first day at the University of Bari, Amy opened with her lecture, ‘History of the Irish Language‘ spanning ancient to modern Irish and the importance of preservation in the digital age, as part of a broader session on endangered languages for linguistics students, with a virtual lecture on Catalan preceding hers. Watching her teach the students about translation tools on Vicipéid, I was struck by their dedication. I was delighted that some students had returned from last year’s programme.
Day two marked the first official day of “Gaeltacht Bari.” When we walked in, I was thrilled- thirty-five students were already seated in front of us, having come entirely of their own accord and once again, some had returned from last year!
We brought dialectal variety into the lecture hall from the start — me with Ulster Irish, and Armagh dialect, and Amy with Munster Irish and a Waterford dialect. I felt like we showed the differences between our dialects without shame and with real pride, as part of the richness of Irish and the linguistic diversity found in minority languages. A spoken language is a living language and it was heartwarming to hear the students practising speaking my dialect back to me aloud.
We started with ‘Dia duit’ and over three intensive immersive sessions the students were immersed in Irish grammar – sentence order, the copula in the present and past tense, how to conjugate regular verbs, prepositions and adjective agreement. From there we moved towards sentence structure, with a particular focus on the kinds of sentences needed to write a Wikipedia article – all tied into the Wikimedia Celebrate Women campaign during International Women’s History Month. It was like handing them a key, a key to write their first drafts on Vicipéid.
I had some free time to explore the city between teaching sessions and Bari’s beauty and architecture amazed me, especially the old town. I walked part of the ‘lungomare’, Bari’s 15km long promenade, the longest one in Italy!
I came across the ‘Margherita Theatre’ on my walk, a lovely building that had an art installation on the films of Federico Fellini, as part of Bari’s International Film Festival, an annual festival since 2009. The SCART group created this art, made from waste materials.I liked it and it reminded me of the ethos of Wikipedia: using what already exists and sharing it with the public for free for the sake of preservation.
I would like to shine a spotlight on the students of the University of Bari and how motivated, dedicated, open and curious they are about minority languages and other cultures. They were not afraid to try something new and it moved me seeing their willingness to engage in Irish medium immersive education.
I was very interested in the students’ stories and the reasons behind their attending this Gaeltacht – what they thought about Irish, Ireland, and minority languages. They mentioned Irish culture and their curiosity about the language itself. It was especially meaningful for those who had their own minority dialect, Barese. A student who attended last year gave this response: ‘Irish is punk.’ This struck a chord with me. Amy and I have been in agreement ever since – Barese is punk, and so is Bari!
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to our hosts in Italy – the lecturers at the University of Bari, University of Bari, especially Maristella Gatto and Francesco Meledandri and Ferdinando from Wikimedia Italia, for their generous welcome and this special cultural exchange.
This event grew out of the Celtic Knot Conference 2024, and I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to be there; to bring my understanding of Irish to Italy and to collaborate with our Community Manager Amy to create ‘Gaeltacht Bari’. It is an enormous privilege to collaborate with a colleague who has such passion, enthusiasm and vision for the Irish language and its place in the digital world.
Stay tuned for the next phase of this collaboration!
